Cardinals Bring Back Fan Favorite in Karlos Dansby
Karlos Dansby walks off the field in celebration (photo Courtesy Reuters).
The last time Karlos Dansby played a game at University of Phoenix Stadium, he was crossing the goal line in overtime of the 2009 Wild Card shootout against the Green Bay Packers after recovering an Aaron Rodgers fumble. We now know that will not be the final time we see him in Cardinal red. Today, Dansby signed a one-year deal to return to the team that drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2004 NFL draft. The salary on the contract is not yet known.
“Los Dirty Bird” returns to the Cardinals after three seasons in Miami. The Cardinals never wanted to let Dansby go and at one point thought they had an extension done with him. However, after Dansby switched agents, the deal fell apart and the asking price became too high. Dansby then signed a five-year, $43 million dollar deal with the Miami Dolphins. Dansby is coming off of his best season as a Miami Dolphin, accumulating 101 total tackles, one sack, and nine passes defended.
However, salary cap issues, and a lack of big plays, led to his release from Miami. It has been reported that Karlos had offers from multiple other teams including the Bills, Jets, and Texans, but Karlos told Darren Urban of azcardinals.com that he instructed his agent to lower his price for the Cardinals because he wanted to be in Arizona.
Dansby certainly helps fill the void left by Daryl Washington for at least the first four games of the year (and possibly more depending on the results of Washington’s arrest). Dansby played under Cards new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles while both were with the Dolphins in 2010, so the scheme transition will not be difficult for Dansby coming over. For now, Dansby will play middle linebacker presumably next to Kevin Minter, but when (if), Daryl Washington comes back, some tough decisions will have to be made.
Dansby himself said that he is versatile enough to play both sides. We will find out if he ends up having to do so.